Appliance for cleaning the surfaces of relatively thin articles, such as the slats of venetian blinds



ARTICLES, SUCH AS THE SLATS OF VENETIN BLINDS Filed Sept. 18, 1959 Amana United States Patent "l 3,075,223 APPLIANCE FOR CLEANING THE SURFACES F RELATIVELY 'IHIN ARTICLES, SUCH AS THE SLATS 0F VENETIAN BLINDS Arthur Richard Warner, 23 The Vale, Chelsea, London SW. 3, England Filed Sept. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 840,902 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-210) This invention relates to an appliance, for domestic or like use, and suitable for cleaning the surfaces of relatively'thin, and it may be, flexible articles. As will appear. hereinafter, a device in accordance with the invention can be used withY advantage in the cleaning of the slats of.

second pad of a sponge material carried on a second,

curved plate for cleaning the other surface of the article to be cleaned, said second plate being so shaped that its pad corresponds in shape substantially to the form of said other surface of the article to be cleaned, a first substantially straight support member consisting of a hollow tubular member with an extension on one of its ends carrying said first plate and pad, a second support member carrying said second plate and pad at one of its ends and with the major portion of its length including its other end within said hollow tubular member, the other end of said first support member forming a handle for the appliance, a pivotal interconnection between said first and said second support members, at the ends thereof remote from the ends carrying said plates and pads, such that movement of said other ends of said support members towards each other moves said pads towards each other while movement of said other ends away from each other moves said pads away from each other, biasing means urging said pads towards each other, thus urging said pads towards each other, and a press-bar in said second support member, which press bar projects through an. aperture in said tubular member, pressure on said press-bar moving said support members apart so as t0 move said pads apart, in which in use the appliance is so positioned that an article to be cleaned is between said pads so that the latter are urged against the respective surfaces of said article.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view, and FIGURE 2 is a plan View, of a cleaning appliance according to the invention;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are simplified views of modifications of the appliance shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

In the appliance shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the

cleaning members are two pads 40, 41 of sponge orv viscose sponge, the working surfaces of the Sponges conforming to the configuration of the upper and lower surfaces of a Slat of a Venetian blind.

The two pads 40, 41 are each -stuck on to a thin backing of spring plate metal such as phosphor bronze, whose width is slightly greater than that of the pads; the edges of these backing plates are received in narrow slots formed by the edges of strips such as 44, 45 riveted to the curved inner surfaces of plate 43. Each of these narrow strips 44, 45 is riveted to one edge of the plate 43 in such a way as to leave a narrow slot or groove between itself and the plate 43. A similar pair of strips is similarly attached to plate 42. Thus, each plate 42,

43'has two parallel grooves, one on each of its longitudi-. nal edges, and each pad is inserted intov it-s support plate for use by. sliding its backing plate into the two slots on,

that plate. Hence the cleaning pads are readily replaceable if necessary.

The handle consists of a tubular member 46 to which is fastened an extension 47 of the support member 43. A further member 48, within the member 46, is pivotally attached to it by a shaft 49; member 48 carries at its other end a mounting block 50 screwed to an extension l 541 on the curved support plate 42.

Screwed onto the member 48, which is of circular cross-section, is a press-bar 50A, which projects through a slot in both the tubular member 46 and in the extension-L 47 on the curved plate 43. A hair-pin spring 51A anchored in a block 52 engages the member 46. This hairpin spring has its ends anchored to the inside of the tubular member 46 and its other loop end fitting roundV the member 48. Thus, member 48 is urged rightwardly, as -seen in FIGURE 4, so as to urge the two pads together.

Immediately behind the pads 40, 41 are stops 53 one o f which is shown in FIGURE 1, and which are partlyV within the pads when the latter are wetted. These stops 53 serve to limit the distance of insertion of a slat betweenY the two pads, so that the pads are properly positioned with respect to the slat being cleaned. This limitation cleaner. Holes indicated schematically at 54 are pro-iv vided in plate 42 to receive the stops 53 `when the pads are squeezed together to remove excess water. Each stop 53 is held in position on plate 43 by a screw such as- In use the sponges are rst wetted, superfluous water being squeezed out by pressing the plates 42 and 43l together. During the squeezing, the stops 28 pass through the correspondingly located holes 54 in the plate 42.

This allows all superfluous water to be squeezed out. The, Sponges are separated and then applied one to each side of the slat to be cleaned, under pressure of hair-pin spring 51A. The appliance is then movedpalong the slat l to clean it. At the end of a slat the appliance is with-r drawn from the slat but without separating the Sponges. When necessary the pads are cleaned by dipping in water and squeezing them out by pressing plates 42 and 43 together.

In the simplified arrangement of FIGURE 3, it will be seen that the support members 66 and 67, are interconnected by a simple leaf -spring 68. This replaces the hairpin spring and pivot pin used in the appliance shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. FIGURE 4 is similar to FIG- URE 3, but the leaf spring 70 used therein is U-shaped with one leg longer than the other.

These two arrangements have the advantage over the appliance shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, that they are simpler since the leaf spring 68 or 70 not only acts as a biasing means to bias the two support members, and hence the pads, together, but also acts as the pivot between the support members.

The appliance u-sing moistened cleaning pads has the advantage over that using brush members that whereas the latter removes only surface dust from the slats, the former removes surface dust and also the dirty film that forms with time and adheres to the slats.

I claim:

1. An appliance for cleaning the surfaces of relatively thin articles which comprises a first pad of a sponge material carried on a first curved plate for cleaning one sur- Patented- Jan. 23, 196.3LA

plate for cleaning the other surface of the article to be cleaned, said second plate being so shaped that its pad corresponds in shape substantially to the form of said other surface of the article to be cleaned, a first substantially straight support member comprising a hollow tubular member with an extension on one of its ends carrying said rst plate and pad, a second support member carrying said second plate and pad at one of its ends and with the major portions of its length including its -other end within said hollow tubular member, the other end of said rst support member forming a handle for the appliance, a pivotal interconnection between said rst and said second support members, vat the ends thereof remote from the ends carrying said plates and pads, such that movement of said other ends of said support members towards each other moves said pads towards each other while movement of said other ends away from each other moves said pads away from each other, biasing means urg'mg said pads towards each other, thus urging said pads'towards each other, and a press-bar on said second support member, which press-bar projects through an aperture in said tubular member, pressure on said press-bar moving said support members apart so as to move said pads apart, in which in use the appliance is so positioned that an article to be cleaned is between said pads so that the latter are urged against the respective surfaces or said article.

2. An appliance for cleaning the surfaces of the slats of Venetian blinds which comprises a first pad of a sponge material carried on a iirst curved plate for cleaning a convex surface of a slat to be cleaned, said plate being so shaped that the working surface of its pad corresponds in shape with the convex surface of a slat to be cleaned, a second pad of a sponge material carried on a second curved plate for cleaning a concave surface of a slat to be cleaned, said plate being so shaped that the working surface of its pad corresponds in shape with the concave surface of a slat to be cleaned, a rst substantially straight support member consisting of a hollow'tubular member of substantially circula-r cross-section with an extension on one of its ends carrying said iirst plate and pad, a secondv substantially straight support member carrying said second plate and pad at one of its ends and with the major portion of its length including its other end within said tubular member, the end ofV said irst 4 support member remote from said pads forming a handle for the appliance, a pivotal interconnection between the ends of said support members remote from said pads such that movement of said ends remote from said pads towards each other moves said pads towards each other while movement thereof away from each other moves said pads away from each other, spring biasing means interconnecting said support members and urging said support members towards each other, thus urging said pads towards each other, Vand a press-bar on said second support member and projecting through an aperture in said tubular member, pressure on said press-bar moving said support members apart so as to move said pads apart, and in which in use the appliance is so positioned that a slat toV be cleaned is between said pads so that the latter are urged against the respective surfaces of said- Slat.

3. An appliance as claimed in claim 2, and which comprises for each said pad a thin flexible plate to which said pad is attached, the width of a plate being slightly greater than its pad, and, on each said curved plate, strips at two edges of the plates which deiine slots for the reception of a pad-carrying thin metal plate.

4. An appliance as claimed in claim 2, and in which said biasing means is a hairpin-shaped spring whose closed end embraces the internal support member and whose open end is anchored inside said other support member.

5. An appliance as claimed in claim 4, and which comprises stop means at the inner edge of said curved plate which limits the entry of an article to be cleaned between said cleaning pads.

6. An appliance as claimed in claim 1, and which comprises a leaf spring interconnecting said support members at the ends thereof Iremote from' the pads, which leaf spring forms both said pivotal interconnection and said biasing means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,452,107 Cranney Oct. 26, 1948 2,541,448 Verzal Feb. 13, 1951 2,552,366 Bush May 8, i 2,622,256 Vojacek Dec. 23, 1952 2,658,221 Nicoli Nov. 10, 1953 2,788,537 Greenberg Apr. 16, 1957 2,789,307 Sussman Apr. 23, 1957 2,804,640 Zaidan Sept. 3, 1957 2,819,484 Fouse Jan. 14, 1958 

1. AN APPLIANCE FOR CLEANING THE SURFACES OF RELATIVELY THIN ARTICLES WHICH COMPRISES A FIRST PAD OF A SPONGE MATERIAL CARRIED ON A FIRST CURVED PLATE FOR CLEANING ONE SURFACE OF AN ARTICLE TO BE CLEANED, SAID PLATE BEING SO SHAPED THAT ITS PAD CORRESPONDS IN SHAPE SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE FORM OF SAID ONE SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE TO BE CLEANED, A SECOND PAD OF A SPONGE MATERIAL CARRIED ON A SECOND CURVED PLATE FOR CLEANING THE OTHER SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE TO BE CLEANED, SAID SECOND PLATE BEING SO SHAPED THAT ITS PAD CORRESPONDS IN SHAPE SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE FORM OF SAID OTHER SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE TO BE CLEANED, A FIRST SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT SUPPORT MEMBER COMPRISING A HOLLOW TUBULAR MEMBER WITH AN EXTENSION ON ONE OF ITS ENDS CARRYING SAID FIRST PLATE AND PAD, A SECOND SUPPORT MEMBER CARRYING SAID SECOND PLATE AND PAD AT ONE OF ITS ENDS AND WITH THE MAJOR PORTIONS OF ITS LENGTH INCLUDING ITS OTHER END WITHIN SAID HOLLOW TUBULAR MEMBER, THE OTHER END OF SAID FIRST SUPPORT MEMBER FORMING A HANDLE FOR THE APPLIANCE, A PIVOTAL INTERCONNECTING BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND SUPPORT MEMBERS, AT THE ENDS THEREOF REMOTE FROM THE ENDS CARRYING SAID PLATES AND PADS, SUCH THAT MOVEMENT OF SAID OTHER ENDS OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS 